Theodore Ziqi Zhang
Founder & Developer
When I volunteered as a teacher and introduced debate to children, I initially focused on helping them construct arguments and respond to opposing views. But the experience gradually changed how I understood debate. I realized that its real value was not simply learning how to win, but learning to look beneath a disagreement: Why do people hold different positions? What assumptions shape their reasoning? And what values make an issue matter to them?
I began to see debate as a skill that extends far beyond competitions. Whether we are evaluating information online, making decisions, or navigating disagreements in everyday life, the ability to question evidence and understand different perspectives is essential.
My interest in mathematics offered another dimension to this idea. Statistics can reveal misleading comparisons, probability helps us reason about uncertainty, and mathematical models allow us to examine competing outcomes and trade-offs. Mathematics cannot tell us which values to prioritize, but it can help us understand the evidence and assumptions behind our judgments.
I created DebateForge Lab to bring these two ways of thinking together. Through real-world debate motions, interactive argument maps, quantitative reasoning, and Values & Clashes analyses, I hope to help students move beyond asking “How can I win this argument?” toward a more meaningful question: “What can this disagreement teach me about the world?”